What's happening
This bill provides supplemental impact aid grants to certain school districts to fully or partially reimburse tax revenue lost due to property tax exemptions under section 446.
Why it matters
Helps schools facing financial strain due to tax-exempt properties. This bill targets school districts (excluding large city school districts) that lose significant revenue because certain properties are exempt from local taxes under state law. It aims to prevent sudden budget shortfalls that can lead to staff or program cuts.
Directs state reimbursement to offset local tax losses. By reimbursing districts for 100% of lost revenue from specific property tax exemptions, the bill ensures that the state—not local taxpayers or students—absorbs the cost of these exemptions. This protects local school funding stability and predictability.
Prioritizes higher-need districts for full reimbursement. Districts classified as "high need" or "average need" based on state criteria will be fully reimbursed, while "low need" districts with lower wealth ratios will receive a partial (25%) reimbursement. This targets aid where the loss has the most significant impact on educational equity.
Establishes a clear and accountable certification process. Payments to districts are contingent on certification by the commissioner of taxation and finance, ensuring that reimbursements are based on verified, up-to-date data and preventing overpayments or misuse of funds.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Reimburse Schools for Tax Losses
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to education
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1472
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1534
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to supplemental impact aid grants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 3641 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
17. Supplemental impact aid grants. a. The purpose of this subdivision is to provide financial assistance to districts other than for city school districts of cities having populations of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more which have experienced a significant reduction in the taxable full value of the school district as a direct consequence of section four hundred forty-six of the real property tax law. Real property actually and exclusively used under section four hundred forty-six of the real property tax law shall remain exempt from taxation and exempt from special ad valorem levies and special assessments.
b. Prescribed payments. On or after the first business day of July of each school year, commencing July first, two thousand nineteen, school districts shall be fully reimbursed in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the exemption provided for by section four hundred forty-six of the real property tax law, if that reimbursement amount is over twotenths of one percent of the district's overall state aid. No payment shall be made pursuant to this subdivision until such amount for each school district is certified by the commissioner of taxation and finance and transmitted to the commissioner. Such certification shall be made on or before June thirtieth so as to facilitate payments to be made pursuant to this section.
c. The commissioner of taxation and finance shall calculate an amount equal to one hundred percent of the exemption provided for by section four hundred forty-six of the real property tax law for each district. A
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02038-01-9
S. 1534 2
district full reimbursement amount shall equal the product of the total exempted full value multiplied by the district homestead property tax rate per thousand for the base year.
d. A district is eligible for such a reimbursement if the quotient of the total aid for adjustment divided by one hundred percent of the exemption provided for by section four hundred forty-six of the real property tax law is greater than two-tenths of one percent. For a district designated as high need or average need pursuant to subparagraph two of paragraph c of subdivision six of this section for the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in support of the enacted budget for the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school year and entitled "SA0708", or in the case of a reorganized district that had a predecessor district that was so designated, such district shall be fully reimbursed. For other districts designated as low need pursuant to subparagraph two of paragraph c of subdivision six of this section for the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in support of the enacted budget for the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school year and entitled "SA0708", or in the case of a reorganized district that had a predecessor district that was so designated, and a combined wealth ratio of less than one and five-tenths (1.5), twenty-five percent.
For the purposes of such computation, "total aid for adjustment" shall mean the sum of the amounts set forth for each school district as "FOUN- DATION AID", "UNIVERSAL PRE-KINDERGARTEN", "FULL DAY K CONVERSION", "BOCES & SPECIAL SERVICES", "HIGH COST EXCESS COST", "PRIVATE EXCESS COST", "HARDWARE & TECHNOLOGY", "SOFTWARE, LIBRARY, TEXTBOOK", "TRANS- PORTATION INCL SUMMER", "OPERATING REORG INCENTIVE", "CHARTER SCHOOL TRANSITIONAL", "ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT", "HIGH TAX AID" and "SUPPLEMENTAL PUB EXCESS COST" under the heading "2017-18 BASE YEAR AIDS" in the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in support of the enacted budget for the two thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year;
e. No payment shall be made pursuant to this subdivision until such amount for each school district is certified by the commissioner of taxation and finance and transmitted to the commissioner. Such certification shall be made on or before June thirtieth so as to facilitate payments to be made pursuant to this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to supplemental impact aid grants
Purpose
This bill changes the education law to provide for supplemental impact aid grants to school districts, based on the assessed value of ceme- teries within the district.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: amends section 3641 of the education law by adding subdivi- sion 17, which would provide financial assistance to school districts that have experienced a significant reduction of the value of taxable property due to the presence of cemeteries in the district, as well as a mechanism for certifying the amount for each school district and a payment date to each district of July 1.
Section 2: sets the effective date.
Justification
Since a large percentage of school funding comes from local property taxes, some school districts are struggling to properly fund educational programs. These districts, which contain an exceptional amount of ceme- tery land, do not benefit from the same amount of property taxes. This is because cemetery land is tax exempt land through Section 446 of the real property tax law and that exemption includes the payment of proper- ty taxes used for school district funding. While this is a well-founded principle, it also hurts some education funding because school districts with numerous and/or large cemeteries are not receiving funds based on their assessed value. In effect, school districts with many cemeteries within their boundaries are penalized for not having the land counted towards school property taxes. This legislation removes the penalty incurred by school districts with cemeteries by establishing state supplemental impact aid grants valued at one hundred percent of the tax exemption provided to cemeteries. Payments made to school districts are NOT a new tax on cemeteries, and do NOT affect their tax exempt status. Supplemental impact grants are provided directly from the state's Gener- al Fund. These payments will better provide fu nding parity between school districts with a disproportionately large amount of cemetery land, versus those without.
In order to qualify for this impact aid, a district must have a reimbursement over a set threshold, which ensures that the districts most severely affected by the presence of non-taxed land will benefit from this program. Additionally, while other classes of non-taxed land exist, cemeteries are unique in that they are perpetually exempt from taxes. That land can never be redeveloped for commercial or residential use to contribute to school taxes. Therefore, this state aid is appro- priate to best respect and protect those cemeteries, as well as ensure adequate resources and aid for children's educational needs.
Legislative history
2017-18: S.672 Referred to Education
2016: S.6443 Referred to Education
Fiscal implications
TBD
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.